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Running Close to the Wind

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What to expect

From the author of A Taste of Gold and Iron - Our Flag Means Death meets Six of Crows in this queer pirate adventure as a merry band of misfits attempt to get away with treason on the high seas.

Avra Helvaçi, former field agent of the Arashti Ministry of Intelligence, has accidentally stolen the single most expensive secret in the world – and the only place to flee with a secret that big is the open sea.

To find a buyer with deep enough pockets, Avra must work with his on-again, off-again ex, the pirate Captain Teveri az-Haffar. Together, they will have to risk journeying to the isolated pirate republic of the Isles of Lost Souls. The only things in their way? A calculating new Arashti ambassador to the Isles; Brother Julian, a beautiful, mysterious new member of the crew with secrets of his own; and the fact that they’re sailing straight into sea serpent breeding season and almost certain doom.

But if they can find a way to survive and sell the secret on the black market, they’ll all be as wealthy as kings – and, more importantly, they’ll be legends . . .

'A whip-smart, hilarious and exuberant high seas romp' — Freya Marske, bestselling author of A Marvellous Light

Critics Review

  • Come for the irrepressible gremlin of a narrator, stay for the plot-relevant cake competitions! A whip-smart, hilarious and exuberant high seas romp

    Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light

  • Simply a masterpiece. Uproariously funny, exquisitely witty, brimming with buckling of swashes and scuttling of butts, an adventure tale peppered with heartfelt moments and the power of friendship like so much grapeshot. Put me in a rowboat and tow me behind the ship if I tell a lie

    Premee Mohamed, author of Beneath the Rising

  • I’ve never fallen so instantly in love with a story as with Running Close to the Wind by the inimitable Alexandra Rowland. Incredible fun, endearing characters, and a beautiful message wrapped in a sea-serpent bow

    Seth Haddon, author of Reborn

  • A delicious tangle of romance, fealty and dangerous politics

    Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne on A Taste of Gold and Iron

  • As indulgent and satisfying as your favourite fanfiction

    Tessa Gratton, author of Blood Magic on A Taste of Gold and Iron

  • Witty, clever, and often extremely funny . . . somehow manages to be both soft and hard-edged, clever and kind. And sexy!

    Jenn Lyons, author of The Ruin of Kings on A Taste of Gold and Iron

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